City Inspector General Found Dead at Atlantic City Casino; Police Say Apparent Suicide

An inspector general for the New York City Department of Investigation was found dead in the parking garage of an Atlantic City casino early this morning.

Atlantic City police say a man identified by sources as Christopher Staackmann, 50, a high ranking DOI official who oversaw several city agencies during his career, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Staackmann was found in a parking garage at the Caesars Atlantic Casino at about 2 a.m. this morning. He had been reported missing, a spokeswoman for the Atlantic City Police Department told a newspaper there. He was found in a city-owned vehicle, his city-issued 9 mm handgun by his side, a source says.

Staackmann, a longtime DOI employee, was involved in several prominent investigations over the years, including a 2007 probe of a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet where someone shot video of rats running amuck. He was also involved in the arrest of two city mortuary workers for stealing public money.

Staackmann, who made $111,208 in 2009, served as inspector general for the parks, health and mental hygiene, housing preservation and development, and the medical examiner.

In February, Staackmann was a main character in a New Yorker profile about DOI. The author of the piece described Staackmann as "thin and spry" with a "kindly, elfin air."